JerrySeinfeld

GREAT link

Now that's one of the most intelligent things I've read on this forum. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The real problem isn't the product, it's that they're being outmarketed. Canadians are being told things that aren't true about the CPC and they are buying the bullshit. In commerce you, Coke could never tell consumers in an ad that Pepsi will kill you. They'd be slapped so fast with a libel suit. Unfortunately in the game of politics, the Libs can finance attack ads claiming the CPC wants to destroy health care or have a US style system and nobody can do anything to stop it and the ONtarians just eat it up like chicken dinner. Retards.

Now that's one of the most intelligent things I've read on this forum. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's not the product that's the problem, it's the marketing. It keeps getting blasted out of thewater by the left media and the Liberal spin machine.

WE'RE FROM EARTH!!!! THE PLANET WHERE SOME PEOPLE DON'T FEEL STONING GAYS IS APPROPRIATE OR THAT EVERYONE IS EQUAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry, I forgot you were absent the day they taught "Love Thy Neighbor" in Sunday School. Now seriously move to Alabama where you'll be more comfortable! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Maybe I should move to progressive Eurpoean societies such as France, Sweden, the UK, Germany etc. al whom agree with the conservative stance on SSM.

Why don't you try reading more than the last line of my post. People in Ontario, BC and the Martimes are not stupid. They know perfectly well that the Liberals have made mistakes, however, most people know that Martin himself likely had nothing to do with the sponsership mess even if he is fudging on how much he knew about it before hand. The reason they will put up with the Liberals and their obvious faults is because the are the best among the alternatives. It seems to me the fault lies with the Conservatives for not making themselves more attractive to urban voters outside of Alberta. Does it make any sense to blame the customer if you have a product to sell and they don't want to buy it? I don't think so. The correct thing to do is fix the product and make it something that people want to buy. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually if you lok at the things concervatives stand for on the "issues de jour": 1. Exploring private alternatives in health care 2. Protecting the traditional definition of marriage yet providing civil unions with the very same rights before the law as marriage. The conservatives align very closely with the policies in very urbanized, progressive Eurpoean societies such as France, Sweden, the UK, Germany etc.

You're almost as annoying as the REAL scoti brison

Well fucko, considering they don't steal NOBODY. However it would be nice to live in a country where some people's social policies weren't taken from the 18th century. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> OOHHHHHH!!! I SEE NOW!! How SILLY of me. So STEALING from your taxpayers, bribing federal officials, BUYING votes, flipflopping on policy and electioneering to cling to power are PROGRESSIVE policies. My sinscerest of apologies, oh lord Brison. And I suppose the values that the conservatives hold: integrity, honesty, sticking to your guns and trying to win power based honestly are OUTDATED ideas. What a joke. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I am SO happy this legislation was passed so that the scum of the Earth like you and you're ilk will have to start getting used to the idea you can't wrap yourself in the bible when you want to advocate HATE anymore. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This thread isn't even about SSM. It's abobut a man who has no integrity as a public official. I am actually pro SSM so SHUT YOUR MOUTH. You are assuming and definitely making an ass out of yourself. I will be glad when thisbill passes too so the Libs can stop demonizing Harper and we can get on with discussing real issues like the lying mess that Martin and his Libs has dug this country into.

WE'RE FROM EARTH!!!! THE PLANET WHERE SOME PEOPLE DON'T FEEL STONING GAYS IS APPROPRIATE OR THAT EVERYONE IS EQUAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry, I forgot you were absent the day they taught "Love Thy Neighbor" in Sunday School. Now seriously move to Alabama where you'll be more comfortable! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Stoning gays? What the heck are you talking about you simplton. Why don't you adress the topic of this thread and what your fearless leader has done to disgrace the institution of government and the Prime Minister's office in the country instead of trying to deflect blame for the mess this disgusting man has created. Stick to the facts: Paul Martin is a Lying, Thieving, Flip Flopping Politico with no morals and no integrity to speak of.

Well fucko, considering they don't steal NOBODY. However it would be nice to live in a country where some people's social policies weren't taken from the 18th century. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> OOHHHHHH!!! I SEE NOW!! How SILLY of me. So STEALING from your taxpayers, bribing federal officials, BUYING votes, flipflopping on policy and electioneering to cling to power are PROGRESSIVE policies. My sinscerest of apologies, oh lord Brison. And I suppose the values that the conservatives hold: integrity, honesty, sticking to your guns and trying to win power based honestly are OUTDATED ideas. What a joke.

People change their minds for many reasons. I used to be against SSM marriage until I analyzed my objections and realized that they made no sense. A willingness to change your mind is a strength not a weakness. Martin had to get the federal deficit under control. Transfers to provinces formed a large peice of federal spending and had to be cut. Bringing the federal gov't deficit down has helped reduce interest rates and gov't debt. As a result, it is now possible to put money back into the system. In other words, he had to cut health care in the 90s to save it in the 2000s. Martin wanted his own mandate as soon as he took over leadership - a very reasonable thing to do. If anything he delayed calling an election because of the scandal. In the end, he got a minority mandate set up the Gomery commision to get to the bottom of the mess and let the commision do its job. All he asked was to wait until that process completes. The only people that have a problem with waiting are hard core CPC and BQ supporters who thought they could take advantage of teh Gomery inquiry leading the news everyday. There are criminals who took advantage of the sponsership program and stole money - but it was not the entire Liberal party or the current leadership team. The fact that this program was poorly mismanaged does not take away from the fact that promoting Canada in Quebec is a reasonable thing to do. The sovereignist have been using Quebec gov't money to do the same thing for decades. So what? What Murphy and Dosanj implied was "there is no way a loser like you is going to get a senate or cabinet seat, however, if you abstain we will find something for you - maybe a commitee chair". It is perfectly legimate to try convince someone to switch sides. The people of Canada may re-elect the Liberals because the the CPC cannot seem to get its act together. For starters CPC supporters seem to have this habit of insulting the people that have the votes that they need. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> All you can do is sit an make apolofies for this disgusting, thieving behavior instead of looking at viable alternatives like the CPC. ACT TOGETHER? WHat planet aare you on? The Liberals are running around stealing our money, changing their policies on a whim and bribing for votes and you say the CPC has to get it's ACT TOGETHER? WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM???!!!

Paul Martin is a disgusting hypocrite of a politician: the worst of the breed for flip flopping on everything to please the voter's current mood. 1. 1999 voted to MAINTAIN the traditional definition of marriage. "We will never change the definition of marriage" said the Libs. Today, it's his greatest rallying cry in the defense of "human rights" -- what a FLIPFLOP. 2. In his tenure as fiinance minister, he slashed federal health transfers in HALF. Then in 2004 his election campaign paints himself as the "saviour of health care -- a fix for a generation". FIX? Fix what, Paul? Fix the disastor you yourself created in health care? 3. ADSCAM. In 2004 Paul Martin called a snap election before he had even CALLED the Gomery commission. He reasoned: "I want to know what happened as much as anybody does, but lets have an election FIRST" Then he calls Gomery AFTER the election and less than a year later asks the Canadian public for a 10 month extension before the next election because "we need all the information first before we have an election" HUH? You called an election one year ago before we had ANY information, now you want to wait until after ALL the information comes out? Which is it, PAUL? Or does your election timing have everything to do with clinging to power? This is the most blatant example as to why we should have FIXED election dates in this country. 4. National Unity. The Liberals with ADSCAM and their cash-filled envelopes are the SOLE reason sovereignty has ANY life at all in Quebec. Then Martin turns around in the budget vote and accuses the CPC of "jeopardizing federalism" by voting with the Bloc against the budget. What a JOKE. The Liberals have jeopardized sovereignty in this country by stealing from federal coffers and trying to buy Quebec votes. 5. Intergrity in Office. Paul Martin's CHIEF of STAFF is caught on tape speaking at length for over two hours dangling senate and cabinet posts in front of a CPC backbencher in exchange for his vote (or for abstaining). Everyone who has an assistant KNOWS they don't enter into those kinds of conversations without the knowledge of their BOSS. Paul Martin attempted to bribe MPs (and perhaps actually did it: Belinda), once again, to cling to power for a few measly months. This guy is a complete SNAKE with NO integrity at all. Guess what? He's our Prime Minister. And the worst of it is, the morons in Ontario are going to re-elect him. I am absolutely disgusteed at the state of affairs in this country.

Paul Martin is a disgusting hypocrite of a politician: the worst of the breed for flip flopping on everything to please the voter's current mood. 1. 1999 voted to maintain the traditional definition of marriage. "We will never change the definition of marriage" said the Libs. Today, it's his greatest rallying cry in the defense of "human rights" -- what a joke. 2. In his tenure as fiinance minister, he slashed federal health transfers in HALF. The in 2004 his election campaign paints himself as the "saviour of health care -- a fix for a generation". FIX? Fix what, Paul? The mess you created! 3. ADSCAM. In 2004 Paul Martin calleed a snap election before he had even CALLED the Gomery commission. He reasoned: "I want to know what happened as much as anybody does, but lets have an election FIRST" Then he calls Gomery AFTER the election and less than a year later asks the Canadian public for a 10 month extension before the next election because "we need all the information first before we have an election" HUH? You called an election one year ago before we had ANY information, now you want to wait until after ALL the information comes out? Which is it, PAUL? Or does your election timing have everything to do with clinging to power? This is the most blatant example as to why we should have FIXED election dates in this country. 4. National Unity. The Liberals and their cash-filled envelopes are the SOLE reason sovereignty has ANY life at all in Quebec. Then Martin turns around in the budget vote and accuses the CPC of "jeopardizing federalism" by voting with the Bloc against the budget. What a JOKE. 5. Intergrity in Office. Paul Martin's CHIEF of STAFF is caught on tape speaking at length for over two hours dangling senate and cabinet posts in front of a CPC backbencher in exchange for his vote (or for abstaining). Everyone who has an assistant KNOWS they don't enter into those kinds of conversations without the knowledge of their BOSS. Paul Martin attempted to bribe MPs (and perhaps actually did it: Belinda), once again, to cling to power for a few measly months. This guy is a complete SNAKE with NO integrity at all. Guess what? He's our Prime Minister. And the worst of it is, the morons in Ontario are going to re-elect him. I am absolutely disgusteed at the state of affairs in this country.

So now it seems the CMA is actively considering private options. From a recent national post column: "Unlike politicians, this country's doctors are evidently not prepared to collectively stick their heads in the sand. Instead, the CMA's annual meeting in August will include a session titled "Charting the Future -- Public/Private Interface in Health Care," in which the association will debate resolutions expected to propose privatization initiatives. This is not some sort of conspiracy to undermine government health care policy; rather, it is an attempt by doctors to take responsibility for steering the system's evolution rather than allow it to collapse entirely amid political paralysis. In an encouraging interview with CanWest News Service this past weekend, CMA president Albert Schumacher called for a "societal debate" that engaged the public "without the inflammatory, incendiary words" that politicians tend to fall back on as soon as the words "private" and "health care" are uttered in the same sentence." So it's not only conservatives, but this country's front line health care workers: the doctors themselves who are exploring private alternatives. Will the Liberals now choose to demonize doctors, along with the Supreme Court, conservatives, the Danes, the Swedes, the Brits, the French and anyone else not opposed to exploring the private sector? It seems the Liberals will soon be the only ones left on the planet with their heads in the sand.

Kids work now everywhere in this country as paperboys or mowing your lawn. At least in this environment they will be suprevised. Tell me what is more unsafe: a kid clearing your table at the local greasy spoon or a kid deleivering papers for a few hours in -15C weather?

You seem determined to pick a fight with me. Not entirely sure why, Greg Admin <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No, Greg. It was a lighthearted joke

Sparhawk, I hate to break it to you but such a coalition was impossible since the rejection of Meech Lake. The federal Liberals put the nail in the coffin for any coalition, nationalist or otherwise, for the foreseeable future. Nothing is impossible in the world of politics. Two years ago the BQ was on its way out in the face of the Martin 'steamroller' and before the sponsership scandal broke. Now they are looking at a near sweep of Quebec. The CPC could have positioned itself as a federalist alternative to the BQ in franophone Quebec where there are lot of soft nationalists. They have clearly given up on Quebec and most of urban Canada. There only hope of winning gov't now is if vote splitting between the NDP and the Liberals in suburban areas gives them enough seats for a minority. BTW: Poll in the Vancouver Sun today: Libs 41%, NDP 26%, CPC 22%. Sort of makes the CPC look less and less like a 'Western' party and more like an Alberta/rural party. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ugh! what an ugly poll. Canadians: prepare for higher taxes, increased spending and lots and lots of "government pet projects". This is getting ugly. What next? An NDP gov? UGH!

For a secon I thought BannedHarper's thread title was "Greg is BANGING me" and was surprised to see he had "changed teams" in all respects;)

Yea so where does it say that the private insurer pays the doctor more? Fees are set by health authorities I believe.

BOOOOOO!

sorry--did my best to remember everyone and scrolled thru some posts too...oops

I would except change: 8. Pro more power to provinces to 8. Pro having services 100% delivered by the level of gov't that is most effective at delivering these services without any thought to ideology regarding feds vs. provinces. and 8. Pro war on terrorism to 8. Pro treating the problem of terrorism as a serious police/public safety matter and anti-useless fear mongering rhethoric about wars on abstract concepts. and I would add: 13. Pro drug de-criminalization. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes on #13, but only soft drugs like ganja not crack or herion

Who wins the "election"?

BASIC POLICIES THAT I BELIEVE IN THAT SHOULD FORM THE BASIS FOR A NEW PARTY: 1. Pro Choice 2. Pro Same Sex Marriage 3. Open to new (even Private) Solutions to make our healthcare system accessible by all and sustainable for the long term. 4. Pro Lower Taxes 5. Anti Kyoto 6. Pro Free Trade 7. Anti Iraq War 8. Pro war on terrorism 8. Pro more power to provinces 9. Pro free votes in Parlaiment 10. Pro senate reform 11. Pro Fixed election terms 12. Pro smaller government

Not all cultural groups are ethnic groups. Also, just because you have nothing but disdain for French Canadians doesn't mean that their opinions don't matter in Canadian policy. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think Harper's point moreso is that the Bloc shouldn't have a say in the long term decisions this country makes because they don't want to be a part of this country long term. It's like asking the GM of the Montreal Canadiens to decide who should coach the Maple Leafs!

What can you possible mean by a 'fair compromise'? Whose interests are we compromising the public interest for? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If we were to allow some level of private service, I think one necessary feature is to make sure that all doctors have only limited participation in their private practice. For example, a specialist might have to work 66% of the time for patients in the public system, and then can use the other 34% to run a private practice. The big worry is that highly skilled physicians will all go to a private practice, leaving people who rely on the public system with even longer waiting times. Any thoughts on this? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Doctor's run private practices now! 100% of Doctor's practices are private right now!!!! Dr. XXX XXX XXX -- "professional corporation"